


Jagged Little Pill

by reversetheuniverse



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, non-sburb AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-17
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-19 17:07:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1477405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reversetheuniverse/pseuds/reversetheuniverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The number one rule of being the best man at a wedding is that you are supposed to be there for the groom.<br/>That, and don't sleep with his sister.<br/>That'll get you into all sorts of trouble you can't even possibly begin to imagine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

You haven’t touched a drop of alcohol all night. Okay, so maybe you were a little bit drunk. Or a lot a bit drunk. You weren’t sure. But being the best man at a wedding was tough work and you thought you deserved a break now that the man was married. You were going to get smashed and find the hottest babe in the room and bang the shit out of her. Good thing there were a lot of bodacious ladies in the room to choose from. Right as you begin to spin around the room and play bridesmaid roulette, you are interrupted.

“Dave Strider, is it just me or are you a little bit drunk right now?” You stumble a little when you stop and face a pair of deep emerald eyes hidden behind round spectacles. The goofy teeth are a trademark Harley trait, for sure, and you recognize the rest of the licorice-haired girl to be none other than John’s younger sister.

“Jade!” you exclaim, clumsily slurring the words. She giggles and holds you up herself when you stumble forward. “No, I am definitely not drunk right now.”

“Could have fooled me. What’s a guy like you gotta get trashed at a wedding like this for? That’s not very responsible of you as an honorary best man.” A small tsk escapes her mouth and you grin that stupid, crooked half-smile of yours.

“I’m one hundred percent sure it has ‘get trashed’ on the check list for best man. Check that shit out.” You take out the folded up piece of paper out of your pocket and hand it to her. She studies it and snorts when she’s finished reading it.

“Really? ‘Do a bridesmaid’ is on the list? Really, Dave, you’ve gotta expand your horizons a little.” You shrug. Traditional was really more of your method. “Well, I can help you with some of these. We can mark ‘Get trashed’ off the list for sure … why is ‘Drop thirty water balloons off the top of the building’ on here?”

“They’re in my trunk if you want to go get them.” Jade pauses as if to contemplate the situation and then sticks out her hand.

“Keys, please.” You grin and hand her the keys to your truck. She takes them and fast walks out of the building to retrieve the water-filled balloons from your red pick-up truck. Meanwhile, you make your way to the roof of the hotel, only tripping down the stairs once. (“I warned you about stairs, Bro” echoes through your head.)

“I got ‘em,” Jade pants, appearing by your side with a bucket full of colorful balloons. “So are we aiming for people?”

“No, we just let the little rubber fuckers go and see what they do. They choose their own destiny,” you say as if you are a thousand year-old wise guru.

“Okay, Ghandi, whatever you say,” she laughs, sitting next to you on the edge of the building, dangling her legs out of the space between the metal bars of the metal fence. The two of you begin dropping water balloons left and right at separate intervals, listening carefully for any unlucky passersby.

The reactions the two of you hear are priceless and send you into a peal of laughter. She pulls the list out of her pocket and checks off ‘Drop thirty water balloons off the top of the building’.

“Let’s see what else you’ve got on here, Coolkid,” she ceases laughing, studying the list. “Okay, so it says we have ding-dong-ditch every door on the third floor. Why the third floor?” You shrug at her.

“Beats me. I just picked a floor number. We could do any floor you want.” Her lips curve into a devious smile.

“Ooh, let’s do the sixth floor. That’s the one Pop-pop is on and he will go crazy,” she cackles, sprinting off towards the stairs that lead back into the hotel room. You try your best to keep up with her, and eventually the two of you make your way to the sixth floor and let hilarious shenanigans ensue. When you reach Jade’s Pop-pop’s door, the two of you hide behind the wall.

“Who’s there?” The old, decrepit voice calls out into the hallway. “Oh, is this one of them ding dong ditcher things? You young whippersnappers need to control yourselves!? First you’re pulling pranks and the next thing you’ll be doing is snorting drugs!” He slams the door behind him and you and Jade snicker, dying of laughter from the hallway performance Jade’s grandpa just gave. The two of you feed off of each other’s laughter and before you know it she’s crying into your shoulder from laughing so hard.

“Okay, so being the best man actually has its perks,” she sniffs, wiping away a tear from her face.

“See? It’s the best fucking thing ever because you get to make your own checklist and no one ever knows what you’ll actually put on it. That’s the best part about being the best man. You can pull off the wildest shit and get away with it.” She lets out a small giggle and then yawns, stretching her arms out. She pulls her phone out of her clutch and checks the time.

“Ugh, it’s getting pretty late. Walk me to my room?” It’s a small request, really, so you comply. You’ve never been bothered by John’s sister, rather amused more than anything. The two of you stroll together, talking about things like ‘How have your fresh beats been coming along?’ and ‘Do you still know how to shoot a gun with your eyes closed?’ She stops when she’s at her room.

“Well, this is my stop,” she softens, kicking the ground absentmindedly with her foot.

“Yeah, I suppose it is.” She looks at you and you don’t know why but your eyes take a moment to soak in all that is Jade Harley. Her eyes are liquid emerald, her lips two soft cushions waiting to be tread on, and the rest of her, well.

Jade was different from the last time you saw her. She was no longer a scrawny seventeen year-old, towering over her peers. She had filled into her curves nicely, her body smooth and supple, like an untouched lake in the early morning. Her goofy buck teeth were less of a nuisance to her now and more of a positive attribute, adding an aesthetically pleasing quality to her. Her hair fell in thick tendrils that made you want to run your fingers through each strand. Her dress hugged her body in all the right places, the black, sparkling material matching her curves perfectly. Jade Harley was a woman now, no longer a child. You feel yourself oddly drawn to her, the space between the two of you ceasing.

“You know, I could take care of that last number on your list,” she whispers, holding it up. You don’t have to look at it to know what she’s referring to, and suddenly you are on autopilot, crashing your lips upon hers. You pull her in closer to you, not daring to let go even for a moment as you are pushed into her hotel room with her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The number one rule of being the best man at a wedding is that you are supposed to be there for the groom.  
> That, and don't sleep with his sister.  
> That'll get you into all sorts of trouble you can't even possibly begin to imagine.

It was stupid to you because she was just a kid. Well, she wasn’t a kid anymore, but that’s how you pictured her. She was your best friend’s little sister, just two years younger than you, a territory you promised yourself that you’d never cross. You had a rule for the women you slept with: either one year under, or five years over. Two was pushing it. Two years and your bro’s sister were crossing the line.

You’ve learned more than your fair share of lessons about drinking at a wedding.

She lies under the covers soundly and you think fast, putting on as much as you can and then getting the fuck out of dodge before you can have any sort of confrontation. When you walk out on the other side of her hotel door, you face a familiar figure. This is the first time buck teeth and jet black hair has struck pandemonium into your heart.

“Oh, hey, Dave! You got some, too, last night?” You stare at him through your shades, unable to think of some witty comeback or quick banter like you usually do. You are at a loss for words and you can feel your heart racing faster. “You alright man?”

“Yeah,” you finally manage to breathe, back pressed against the door. For a moment you think you see your life flash before your eyes, but it’s really disappointing. One thing crosses your mind: JOHN. CAN’T. KNOW.

“So, who’s the lucky lady?” With quick thinking, you yell,

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!” John turns and you sprint down the hallway, getting out of sight. You pray to whatever god that John doesn’t find out you slept with his sister. That’s another disaster you’d like to keep for another day.

You almost feel bad that you left Jade alone in her hotel room, but then you remember you drank your weight in alcohol last night and she’s the one who decided to accompany you in hilarious shenanigans all over the hotel last night while you were shitfaced drunk. You feel that it’s only fair that you let her be.

It’s not like you were going to date her or anything. You hadn’t had that intention for anybody in a long while.

Your feet somehow seem to find their way home down the gritty sidewalks of New York, and as you make your way to your apartment you reach into your pocket and take out your keys and the best man list. You toss it into the garbage can by the side of the stairs and make your way inside, ready to shower and sleep for the remainder of the day. Being drunk was a lot of work, but being hungover takes a lot of work, too.

An hour later you emerge from your shower, steam rising from your skin as you wrap the towel around your neck. You feel rejuvenated once again, feeling at the top of your regular Strider game. Your phone vibrates on the coffee table and you pick it up. It’s Rose. You answer it.

“Hella hello?” She scoffs from the other side.

“Honestly, David, is that how you’re going to answer the telephone from now on?” You gulp. One way to tell that Rose is cross with you is when she uses the formal version of your name.

“What’s up, Lalonde?” You hear a loud sipping sound come from the other end of the line.

“So you slept with John’s sister?”

“I SWEAR TO GOD DON’T TELL JOHN HE’LL SLIT MY FUCKING THROAT IF HE FINDS OUT,” you yell at the phone.

“Relax, Dave, I’m not going to tell him. He doesn’t know. I think he forgot that Jade was in that room, anyway. He’s been … distracted.” You make an inaudible gag to yourself, hoping that Rose will leave the miniscule details of their sex life to the imagination. Which you didn’t want to imagine that either.

“Okay, good,” you sigh, relieved. “Wait, how did you find out?”

“Well, John told me you got laid last night and I asked who and he said the girl across the room. Also, Jade told me at breakfast this morning.”

“What’d she say?” You ask.

“She said it was a pleasure to help the best man finish his check list and then giggled, whatever that meant.”

“She didn’t seem mad?”

“Quite the contrary. She seemed pretty okay that you weren’t there when she woke up. She said she kind of figured you’d split as soon as you were awake and that’s all she said.” You scoff.

“That’s it?”

“Well, what did you want, David? Did you want her to be melancholy that you abandoned her naked body in a hotel room, that she waited all morning for you to return and make love to her again only to find out that you were never going to return?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“Dave, you need to get your head out of your ass.” You sigh.

“Eh, I guess it’s for the best. At least I won’t have to see her again for a long while.”

“Wait, you honestly don’t know?” You raise your brow.

“I honestly don’t know what?”

“She—Oh, sorry, Dave. I gotta go,” she giggles from the other end, and you hang up immediately. No sense in listening to gross Lalonde-Egbert foreplay. You wonder what it was Rose was going to tell you but you save it for another day. You don’t want to become part of their honeymoon phase of marriage. That’s just calling for all sorts of sick-nasty shit.  
You crash back on your couch and rest the day away, nursing the massive hangover you received from achieving ‘Best Man’ status. Way to go, Dave Strider. Way to go. You feel your eyelids grow heavy as you drift off to sleep, hoping that sleep can fix your scattered brain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The number one rule of being the best man at a wedding is that you are supposed to be there for the groom.  
> That, and don't sleep with his sister.  
> That'll get you into all sorts of trouble you can't even possibly begin to imagine.

Aw, hell no.

“Hey, Dave!”

This is not happening.

“I thought you might want a potted plant, neighbor!” The thought never crossed your mind that maybe what Rose was trying to tell you was that John’s little sister had just acquired an apartment right across from you.

“Neighbors?”

“Silly, you can see me right from your window!” Of course she lives there. You’re actually kind of glad it’s she who lives there and not the old cat lady that used to reside there, but it was still the last thing you needed to see every day: a reminder of wedding shame.

“Greaaaat,” you draw out, taking the potted plant gingerly. It is a cactus.

“It’s a cactus because it’s stubborn and a prick—prickly like you!” she corrects herself midsentence and you begin to question whether or not this girl is actually real. You sigh and realize confrontation.

“Look, Jade, you’re a nice girl and everything, but—“

“Save it, Dave. I’m not here asking for a relationship. We both know you’re not my type and I have more important things that I could be doing than fawning over John’s asshole of  
a friend,” she interjects, and you raise a brow at her, a little offended. “That being said, I still want to be friends with you because you’re about the only person I know in this town at the moment and you have your moments where you can be pretty cool.”

“Hey, I’m always cool,” you growl, but she only laughs.

“Okay, Dave, okay. Whatever lets you get sleep at night.” You huff at her, because who does she think she is barging in and offering potted plants and hurling insults left and right at you? She puts her hand out. “Hand me your phone.”

“What for?!”

“So I can put my number in your phone, Stupid.” You reluctantly hand over your iPhone and she punches in her contact information and sends herself a text message. “There.”

“Ugh, I just can’t get rid of you, can I?” you groan.

“Not in a million years,” she flashes a wicked grin that could only come from a little criminal mastermind in the making. You shake your head at the manipulative child. “See you around, Dave Strider!” She turns on her heel and struts down the hallway. You shut your apartment door and begin to wonder what shit you’ve gotten yourself into this time. Your phone vibrates in your hand. It’s Rose. You answer it.

“So, as I was saying the other day—“

“Rose, I know.”

“Oh, so she visited you!” You grunt disdainfully.

“Yeah, I had the pleasure of getting a conjugal visit from her.”

“Ah, was it awkward?” she says, almost in an amused tone.

“Well, all she seemed to want to do was be my friend and hurl insults at me all at the same time.” Rose snorts.

“I like her. Consider her my replacement.”

“Oh, I dunno, I don’t think anyone can replace a snarky blonde-haired girl like you,” you tell her, raising your brow.

“Well, you’re gonna need someone now that John and I are going to be moving away,” she switches to a more serious tone. You shuffle your feet, kicking at the ground.

“Yeah, you two have fun, okay? Shit’s gonna be weird without you.” Rose lets out a light, airy laugh.

“I can say the same. Goodbye, Dave.” The line goes dead when she hangs up and you place the phone on the table, letting out a long sigh. You suddenly think that this is how  
many famous trios play out: the best friend gets the girl and the main character sits on the side wondering what the hell he gets. At the moment, it’s a lonely apartment and an annoying pest handing you a potted plant and bashing on your Strider charm.

Life could be so goddamn confusing sometimes.


	4. Chapter 4

“You’re going with me to the art museum.” You open your eyes and find the tiny black haired girl standing over you, holding two pieces of paper in her hand.

“Jesus fucking Christ how did you get in here?!” you exclaim, jumping with surprise.

“You left your door unlocked,” she shrugs. “Now get dressed, fuckass!” She slaps your arm for extra effect.

“Ow! Geez, you really know how to annoy the hell out of me, don’t you?” She lets out a girlish giggle, and you wonder how she can be so abusive yet so adorable at the same time. The chick was truly an enigma.

“I’ll wait in the living room,” she tells you, as if you had no say in the matter of a morning trip to the museum. Obviously you didn’t or she wouldn’t be standing inside your apartment.

You sigh and rise from your bed, finding clothes on the floor that are halfway clean (after a brief sniff test) and put on a red t-shirt, black jeans, and gray sweatshirt. You lace up your favorite pair of red converses and exit your bedroom, meeting the little pill in the living room.

“Oh, good, you’re ready! Let’s go!” She tugs at your arm and drags you out the door, barely giving you a minute to even grab your phone.  
The two of you walk down the busy, cluttered sidewalks of New York City, making your way to the art museum. The two of you walk alongside each other in silence for a bit, but a comfortable silence. You also realize that this is the first time you’ve ever seen Jade Harley not talking. The streak doesn’t last long.

“I know it probably doesn’t matter to you and you probably think I’m here to annoy you, but I’m not,” she begins, eyes focused straight ahead. “I know how you’re feeling and believe me, I know what it feels like to be the odd one out. All my friends have gone off and had fabulous lives and we’re only twenty-two. I barely even know what I want to eat for breakfast!” She laughs to herself, as if waiting for you to pitch in with your own chuckle, but you only continue to listen. “It’s just, I know things will be hard now that your two best friends have tied the knot, but you won’t be alone.”

You suddenly realize part of the reason why Jade is in New York, in the house across the street, just an alleyway separating the two of you. John and Rose knew. They knew that even though you hate having feeling jams and being all open about things, they knew that you were going to feel left out. So they sent the only person they knew that could possibly comply with that to live next door. You also begin to wonder how this girl could possibly know exactly what you were thinking and feeling. You think that maybe you should stop taking her for granted.

Jade Harley was a crazy girl, who knew exactly what she wanted in life and got it any way she could. She was abrasive, loud, obnoxious. When she was ten she convinced the whole neighborhood of kids that she was the next Christ incarnate and had established her own mini Jerusalem in her backyard. The chick was insane.  
But she was the person that seemed to understand how you felt without you even saying a word. You weren’t sure how you felt about that.

“Thanks,” you mutter, unsure of what else to say. Feeling jams weren’t really your forte, so to speak. She gives a tiny half-smile and stops once you’ve reached the art museum.  
For the next two hours the two of you wander around the museum, commenting on the art. (“It looks like a canvas turned on its side, had shitty paint thrown at it, and then put on a wall.” “Dave, it’s modern art!” “See, that explains everything.”) Prior to your earlier thoughts, the whole experience isn’t that bad. Jade’s still fifty shades of crazy, but she’s actually cool. You had almost forgotten that.

After the museum the two of you grab a bite to eat and then walk back towards your apartment. Jade seems to be able to calculate the perfect times to talk and to be silent, and her tune into your psyche is almost impeccable. When you reach your apartment respectively, Jade stops.

“I had fun, Dave. I mean, I know you must think I’m some crazy obnoxious girl who threw herself into your life, but I’m not.” She pauses a moment to think before continuing, “And I’m not a little girl anymore, okay? I’m twenty-two. I can make my own decisions. I’m an adult now. So don’t think that I’m that same girl you knew when you were twelve. I think we both know that we’ve grown up a lot since then.” You stare at her blankly and she says nothing for a moment, as if to let you process the information. “Anyway, don’t forget to take care of your cactus! Bye!” She waves and bounces over to her apartment complex, disappearing from sight.

She was right, of course. Neither of you were the same people from when you were children. Age had changed you, and once you moved away for college, it seemed you began to be a whole other person from the one that lived in the little white picket-fence neighborhood you used to live in. The way you looked at the world was from an entirely different perspective. Jade, well, as much as you didn’t want to admit to yourself, Jade wasn’t a little girl anymore. She was a woman.

You weren’t really sure how you felt about that.


	5. Chapter 5

“Oh, good, you got take out again. I was afraid you were going to try cooking again. Please, do us both a favor and don’t ever cook again.” Jade slides next to you on the couch, propping her feet on the coffee table. She grabs a box of Lo Mein off the table and picks up a pair of chopsticks and begins sifting around the noodles, picking out the tiny shrimp only.

“Hey, I can cook. Don’t you fucking judge my skilled nugget making powers,” you argue, flicking the on switch on the remote. The TV screen lights up with color and you begin flipping through the movie channel. This is how you and Jade spend your nights since you’ve become friends. You find it easier and easier to talk to her and vice versa.

“Oh, put on Warm Bodies!” she exclaims, although it is slightly muffled due to her stuffed mouth.

“I’m not putting a shitty zombie romance movie on,” you glare at her. She pulls her signature move, the puppy dog pout (she perfected it in the fourth grade), and even you fall prey to it sometimes. “Fiiiiiine,” you sigh, clicking the select button. She claps giddily, bouncing up and down on the couch.

Two hours later the movie is over and Jade is asleep beside you, drool dripping from the corners of her mouth. You won’t admit to her that you thought the shitty zombie romance movie was actually good and that she missed out on a fantastic sloppy zombie make out session (“I bet those two are gonna make out.” “Why would she kiss a zombie, Dave?” “I dunno, some chicks are into that kind of shit.” “No they aren’t.” “You’re into that shit, aren’t you?” “ . . .” “That is fucking hilarious!” “Shut up, Dave.”) You get up and grab a spare blanket, sprawling it over the sleeping ebony-haired girl and returning to your own room for the night.

These sorts of nights become the norm for the two of you and you actually kind of enjoy it. Jade acts as your bro and you form a comfortable friendship with her. You can’t spend your nights like this every day due to your job as a DJ, but you spend practically every night with the companionship of the not-so-obnoxious-anymore girl. Eventually, she manages to convince you to bring her with you to one of your DJ jobs.

“You won’t regret it!” she grins.

“Oh, I think I already do,” you sigh, leading her into the club you are DJing for. The place is called the Lucky Strike and despite the classy name the place is anything but. Heat emerges from the tight and sweaty crowd making the air humid and gross. People all around are dancing and grinding on each other. The lights flash various assortments of colors across the entire room. These were your kind of people, your kind of place.

You wave Jade off for a bit so you can do your job (“A man’s gotta earn his paycheck,” is your response to the pleading Jade.) The feel of the turntables beneath your fingertips is a pleasant, familiar sensation, one you couldn’t go a lifetime without feeling. The grooves in the records slide underneath your calloused fingers and you almost lose touch with reality, getting lost in the music.

After a while, you spot Jade in the crowd and wave her up and away from the smothering wave of people. She smiles stupidly and is by your side in no seconds flat.

“Are you gonna let me touch them?” she displays a look of extreme euphoria blatant upon her face.

“Yeah, yeah, but calm down. Here, get in front of the table.” She bounces over to the turntables, peering down at them with awe and wonder.

“What next?” You get behind her, taking her hands and placing her fingertips on the smooth records on the turntables.

“Okay, so you’re gonna wanna slide with the music. You’re just gonna let it flow into one ear and out the other, as if you’re the music. It just comes naturally.” She giggles a bit as if to say, “That’s cheesy, Dave.”, but does as you say, listening for the music and gliding her hands carefully in the direction she wants. When she thinks she’s got it, she peers up at you, smiling at first with emerald eyes sparkling, and then suddenly turning red as if she had something stuck in her windpipe.

“I have to go,” she coughs silently, pushing you out of the way and leaving. You almost run after her and feel bad for not doing so, but you have a job to do.

Once your shift is over, you attempt to call Jade and see what’s up, but her phone only goes to voicemail. You try to think of what made her all hot and bothered, but then … oh. You swallow, trying to think of what to do next. You call up Rose.

“David, you do realize it’s like twelve at night here?” she asks groggily through the phone.

“Yeah, I know, but I had something important to ask you,” you say in an almost-desperate tone.

“You couldn’t just ask Jade? I’ve heard you two have become quite chummy over the past two months,” Rose says with a yawn.

“Well, it’s about her, really.”

“Oh?”

“Can men and women really be just friends at all one sex is involved?” Rose is silent from the other end of the line for a moment before responding.

“ … No, they cannot.”

“Thanks, Rose,” you tell her, hitting the end button on the phone and sitting down on the concrete steps in front of your apartment building.

You peer over to the apartment building next to yours thinking it’s crazy that she’s just separated by a building, but then you start to wonder if it’s not just a building, it’s not just age, it’s not just life that separates the two of you from each other.

Maybe the problem was you.

And then you get a crazy idea on how you could fix it.


	6. Chapter 6

You had a crazy idea, a crazy awful, brilliant, wonderful idea to make things between you and Jade okay.

Over the course of two months, the two of you had come to desire two completely different things from each other. Jade wanted companionship, romance, while you only ever wanted was an uncomplicated relationship (in this case, friendship) and sex. So the plan was simple.

You had mapped out the situation in your mind, making sure that the two of you could do it, could pull off something this drastic and still live somewhat normal, separate lives.

“Hey, Dave, what time is it?”

“It’s eleven o’ two.”

“Thanks.” Her bare back lies strewn across your chest, head hanging upside down off the side of the bed with her tendrils of hair tumbling after. She reads a book while you rest, completely comfortable with her.

So maybe your idea was a little cliché, but it seems to work for the two of you. She got what she wanted by being able to be with you, and you got what you wanted by having a friendship and sex at the same time. You knew that typically ‘friends with benefits’ relationships didn’t work out, and Rose might have been right in saying that sex and friendship cannot go hand in hand, but you were set out to prove her wrong. You and Jade could still be friends and have sex.

The two of you set ground rules with each other. You were allowed to have sex with her whenever you wanted to, but you owed her dinner or a movie or something every time you did. She was allowed to kiss you whenever she wanted to but only if you were allowed sex. It worked out for her and it worked out for you.

“It’s not gonna work out.”

“I have to disagree. I think it’s definitely a win-win situation for the both of us.” Rose exhales heavily from the other line a while later.

“Dave, what happens when the two of you want to stop this ‘friends with benefits’ relationship?” You ponder the thought for a moment.

"We keep on being friends.”

“What if she falls in love with you?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I just am, okay?”

“What happens if John finds out?” She doesn’t say that as a threat, but as a warning. What will John do if he finds out you’re boning his sister only for the pure joy that you receive from sex? You don’t think you could handle John finding out you and Jade. The last thing you wanted was for you yourself to get yelled at by John and lose him as a friend. You didn’t want Jade to get yelled at either for your impeccable sex drive.

“He won’t find out,” you say quietly.

“You better hope he doesn’t,” she warns, and the line goes dead.

You sit alone in your apartment in silence, wondering if it had been a mistake to walk up to Jade’s apartment door a week ago. You also wonder if it had been a mistake to even sleep with her in the first place at the wedding. Life was too complicated after that. Before you just had your job and various one night stands and life was easy. Now, you knew the woman you slept with, hell, you’ve known her practically your whole life, and yet the two of you could manage to casually sleep with each other and continue to be friends the next day. Life was a crazy mess of things that you desperately wanted to just leave untouched.

A tiny knock erupts from behind the front door and you rise to answer it. When you swing it open, Jade quickly rushes in and kisses you, face wet from tears. You try to tear her away from you and once you do, you grip her shoulders.

“Jade, Jade, what’s wrong?” she sobs silently before leaning into your chest, dry-heaving.

“My grandfather died,” she whines a moment later, a sob erupting a couple seconds after.

“Shh, it’s okay, just calm down,” you rub her back reassuringly, sitting down on the couch with her. She bounces into your chest silently, letting a few sniffs and half-sobs out occasionally. You stroke her hair and once she manages to calm down you attempt to talk to her again.

“Want me to go with you to the funeral?” She nods and lies back onto your chest, sniffing back tears.

The funeral takes place two weeks later on a stormy day, perfect for the atmosphere of gloom and death. You and Jade purposefully avoid each other at the funeral (the last thing John needs to find out about on his grandfather’s funeral day is that you’ve been doing his sister.) John never questions you once, only happy to be in your presence again and that you showed up (“Sorry, man, you’ve been a bit of a flake in the past.” “Yeah, I understand.”) Rose sends you looks the entire time, a silent form of communication that the two of you perfected over the years (especially once she began harboring feelings for said husband.)

John and Jade both take turns speaking a eulogy for their beloved grandfather. The priest says a few words about how his body is now with God in heaven, and then it is over as soon as it begins. John informs you that he and Rose will be staying in the city for the next few days in a hotel not too far from your apartment. You take the solemn Jade back to her apartment and return to yours, feeling downright depressed from the funeral.

You allow yourself to down some bourbon, and if you get piss drunk tonight it’s fine because you don’t have much to really lose at the moment. Later a knock is at your door and you swing it open and it’s Jade and soon enough you realize you’re both piss drunk. She latches onto you and soon enough the two of you become entangled in the mess of each other’s bare skin and you find yourself saying I don’t care I don’t care. But you just might.


	7. Chapter 7

“Jade, pick up, pick up,” you mutter as you listen to the dial tone in hopes that she would answer. It ceases and goes directly to voicemail. You press the end button on the phone and sigh, placing it back on your coffee table. Ever since her grandfather’s funeral, she has been more and more distant. You think you might’ve spotted her head flick past her apartment window one time but you’re not even sure if it was real or your mind was playing tricks on you.

Her silence is killing you, to say the least.

You don’t know if it’s because of something you’ve said or didn’t say or something you’ve done, but she refuses to talk to you or see you. It’s driving you absolutely crazy and you  
don’t know how to deal with it.

You call up Rose and she informs you that she and John are going to be returning in a few weeks to take care of his grandfather’s things.

You’re completely alone.

You never really realized how much you missed Jade’s company until she wasn’t there. Without her it was an empty apartment full of empty takeout boxes scattered on the floor and a pathetic blond-haired kid who barely knew what he was doing with his life. It was sad, really.

The week goes by excruciatingly slow and you start to appreciate the things you once had. You call up Rose only once to talk about your situation. You’ve tried not to call her so often now that she’s a married woman.

“I don’t know why she’s not talking to me.”

“Dave, had you actually tried talking to her?”

“Yeah, like a billion fucking times!”

“Okay, I’ll correct myself. Have you tried talking to her in person?” You are struck silent.

“ … No.” She lets out an elongated sigh.

“There’s your problem.”

Rose somehow convinces you to talk to her face to face (you hate confrontation, no matter who it is.) You rap your knuckles on the door and Jade reluctantly answers. Her liquid emerald eyes are low, almost tired looking. The corners of her mouth are turned downward, an out of character sort of action.

“What is it, Dave?” she asks silently, only her head peering out behind the door.

“Can I come in?” She seems to ponder this for a moment before inviting you inside her apartment. She gestures to the couch and you sit down upon it.

“Coffee?” You nod your head and she sets off for the coffee pot, knowing exactly how you take your coffee down to the t. She returns a few seconds later with a black mug in hand, passing it to you.

“Thanks,” you say, taking a sip of it.

“So what do you want?” she inquires of you, barely making eye contact.

“You’ve been ignoring me.” She makes a clicking sound with her tongue.

“I’m allowed to do what I want.” She says this with such ire that you are almost taken aback. She is never usually this sassy with you.

“Well, I’m allowed to know why you’re ignoring me,” you say defensively, setting the coffee down on the table gently.

“Just drop it, Dave,” she snarls, crossing her arms. “Just go.”

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong!” you rise from your seat, now at the same level as her. Her mouth twists to the side.

“Okay, you wanna know what’s wrong, Dave? You wanna know why I’m upset?” Her voice raises with irritation.

“Just fucking tell me already.” She exhales a long breath and then let’s you have it.

“You wanna know what happened that night of my grandfather’s funeral?” she asks. You raise your brow.

“I know what we did,” you say. She huffs.

“Yeah, but you want to know what you said to me?” You think to yourself what you might’ve said, but you were too drunk to remember it.

“What did I say?” You brace yourself for the worst, not expecting to hear what she says next.

“You told me you loved me.” What?

“What?” She bites her lip, wistfully looking away to the side. You can see tears welling up in her eyes.

“You told me you loved me!” she exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. “And you know what? I was crazy enough to believe it for a bit. I thought that maybe you really did feel that way for me, that it wasn’t just the alcohol talking. I guess I was wrong.” A couple of tears trail down her rosy cheeks and you want so desperately to reach out and wipe them  
away, but you don’t. You just stand there.

“Jade, I—” you begin, but she puts up a hand to stop you.

"No, you don’t understand! I can’t be around someone who says they’ll be with me but they won’t love me like I love them! I can’t put myself through that kind of turmoil!" she cries, more tears spilling like waterfalls. "Just leave, Dave. Please, just go." You find yourself thinking so hard that it hurts your head and you do as she says, still processing the situation. You exit the apartment, making your way back to your own. You slow down at one point, dizzy from the mess of things running through your head.

You told her you loved her. You made love to her and told her you loved her. Why would you even do that? You don’t even think you actually know what love is. You’ve never once been in love. You may have loved things, but being in love was a completely different concept. You only had one question for yourself.

Were you in love with Jade Harley?


	8. Chapter 8

You’ve sat in your empty house for three weeks, wishing you knew what to do with your life. At this point, you haven’t even thought of talking to Jade again before you even knew what to talk about and she probably couldn’t even relish the thought of ever talking to you again. You were stuck in a rut and you couldn’t get yourself out.

A consistent downpour of rain has followed for the past three weeks, as well, making your depressed state ten times worse, the feeling of despair blatant throughout the entire city. You do leave for a couple of DJ-ing jobs, but it’s on the rare occasion. It’s just been you and yourself and a house full of loneliness.

A loud pounding on the door erupts throughout the entire room and you sigh, rising to answer. What you don’t expect to find is John, sopping wet with rain.

“What the hell man—” you begin, but the panting John cuts you off.

“Rose is gone!” Your eyes widen.

“What?!” He grips your shoulders, face full of worry.

“Rose has disappeared! Whoosh! Gone! I don’t know where she is and it’s freaking me out!” You grip John’s shoulders.

“Okay, calm down, man. We can find her. Let’s go get Jade first,” you tell him, figuring even though the two of you aren’t talking you still need her to track down Rose. She wouldn’t let down her brother. She isn’t that kind of person.

“Okay,” John nods his head, and you grab your red hoodie off the kitchen table and slide it on, following John outside hastily.

The two of you run over to Jade’s apartment and knock on her door rapidly, urging her out of her home. No response emerges from the other side.

“That’s weird. I just talked to her not too long ago. She never mentioned leaving her home,” John furrows his brow, continually knocking on the door. You put your hand up to stop him and grab your keys out of your pocket, picking out the one that belongs to Jade’s apartment. John raises his brow but doesn’t question it. You walk inside, finding a completely deserted home.

"Call her,” you instruct John, desperation pouring through your voice. John nods and gives her phone a ring. The familiar hum of her ringtone echoes throughout the house.

"Shit,” you mutter, realizing she left her phone behind. “I think she’s gone, too.” John doubles over for a second, looking like he’s going to have a heart attack.

“Do you know what happened to her?” he breathes, trying desperately to keep himself in check.

“No, she hasn’t talked to me in like, three weeks. We sort of had a … fight,” you hesitate, trying to tell him somewhat of the truth.

“Great!” he throws his hands in the air, walking off. “What are we going to do now? Both Rose and Jade are gone and we can’t even get in contact with either of them!” You try to keep yourself calm and think of what to do.

“Alright, here’s the plan: you’ll go find Jade and I’ll go find Rose. That way they won’t run away if they see either of us. That is, if both of them are mad at us.” John nods in agreement and the two of you split off to find the missing women. You try to think of where Rose could possibly be. An idea formulates in your brain and you take off down the puddle-filled sidewalks.

It takes you twenty minutes by foot to reach the Old Oak Park, a park that you, Rose, and John would play in all the time when you were younger. It’s about ten minutes away from your old neighborhood and it seemed exactly like somewhere Rose would go. The place has the appearance of not being played at in a millennium, filled with overgrowth of bushes and vines everywhere. It doesn’t take you long to spot the blonde-haired girl sitting underneath the old oak tree on the stone bench, looking down at the sidewalk.

“Rose Lalonde-Egbert, what have you gotten yourself into this time?” She peers up at you, frightened at first but then softening her gaze.

“Oh, hello, David. I suppose you were sent to find me?” she smiles a bit and you sigh and sit down on the bench next to her.

“Yeah, I suppose I was. What are you doing running off like that? John was worried. He’s your husband, you know. You kinda gotta tell him when you’re gonna go somewhere, especially if you’re gonna run off.”

“I know, I just … it’s really silly,” she begins.

“Oh, I’ve heard enough ‘silly’ things for a lifetime, really. What’s up? What’s got your feet all cold? You know, it’s a little bit late for that, the wedding was a few months ago,” you joke. She giggles a little then deadpans, looking at you seriously.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurts out after a moment of silence.

“Whoa, congrats! I take it John doesn’t know yet?” She shakes her head at you.

“No, he doesn’t. I found out today and …”

“And you bolted,” you finish for her and she nods.

“What if I’m a bad mother, Dave? What if I end up like my mother and drink all my problems away with liquor?” she cries into her hands. You rub her shoulder gently.

“Rose, you probably have the most qualified person I know to help you through this. John will always be there for you and even if he’s not, I’ll always be here for you,” you reassure her. She smiles at you and pulls you (surprisingly) in for a big embrace.

“Thanks, Dave,” she relaxes. You sit quietly together, listening to the rainfall before she asks, “So how are you and Jade?” You exhale deeply.

“I don’t really know anymore. A couple of weeks ago she told me that she loved me.” Rose raises a brow.

“And what did you say to her?” You rub the back of your neck nervously.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“So you don’t love her?” That was a tough question. There were a lot of things you loved about Jade Harley. You loved the way she was loud and bright and would always try to get her way no matter what. You loved the way her licorice hair fell down in thick tendrils and how she’d run her fingers through them all the time. You loved the way her eyes looked all the time, liquid emeralds that practically pooled out into your own cupped hands. You loved the way she’d only pick shrimp out of the Lo Mein takeout box but wouldn’t eat anything else. You loved the way she rested gently in your arms after you made love to her, the corners of her rosy lips curving into a delicate smile. So was that really the same as loving her? 

The more you thought and thought about it, the more you realized how much you really did miss all of that. You realized how much it really ached when she didn’t crawl by your side and you missed how she didn’t really take crap from anyone (especially yourself.) And if you really did feel that way about her, even when she was gone,

You guess you really were in love with Jade Harley.

“Actually, I think I do,” you confess to Rose a moment later. Her eyes widen with shock.

“Really?” You shrug.

“Yeah. I mean, I guess being away from made me realize how much it’d suck to not have her here. It’s funny, I think for the longest time I was afraid of what might happen if I was committed to someone, but now I can’t see not having someone to be with.” Rose grins.

“I’m glad she’s the one that helped you out with that. She’s a good person, Dave.”

“I know.” With that the conversation ceases and the two of you return to listening to the sound of the rain fall on the streets. You rise abruptly a few minutes later and offer her a hand.

“Shall we return?” She nods her head and accepts it, standing up. The two of you call a taxi and return back to the city where your apartment is.

When you return, John and Jade are sitting and conversing on the steps outside her apartment. You wave out to them and they spot you. You point to Rose excitedly and John does the same with Jade in response. You meet each other in the middle of the sidewalk and John embraces Rose tightly.

“Oh god, I thought you were gone for good,” he sighs, his eyes closed tightly.

“I’m sorry I left,” she apologizes, kissing him tenderly. You and Jade stand off to the side awkwardly. She looks at you.

“Dave, can we talk alone for a moment?” You nod your head in response and follow behind her as she leads you to your steps out of earshot of John and Rose. “Now, before you hear me you might wanna sit down,” she warns you.

“Okay, but let me do something first,” you tell her. She bears a look of puzzlement but then your lips crash upon hers and she wraps her arms around your neck, closing the remaining gap between the two of you. You break to breathe a moment later, resting your forehead upon hers and pulling her waist towards you. “I love you, Jade Harley. I love you, I love you, I love you.” She lets out a little half-sob, smiling widely.

“I love you too, Dave.” She pulls away from you, holding your hands. “You still might wanna sit down for this news.” You furrow your brow.

“What’s up?” She reaches up and rests her hand on her face, looking directly up at you.

“I’m pregnant.” Your eyes widen in surprise.

“You, too? What is this, National Pregnancy Day?” She frowns.

“Wait, you’re not mad?” You shake your head.

“Why would I be mad at you? I think we both know it’s hardly your fault. Besides, I’d love to have children with you. I mean, granted, this is happening a little too fast for me and I might fall over and faint in a second, but I think I could handle having a little mini-me running around the place. And who knows? You might have a mini-you running around, too.” She laughs and pulls you in for a hug. You rest your head on her shoulder and smile at her. She lets go and looks back at you.

“So wait, who else is pregnant?”

“Rose and John are going to be having a little Lalonde-Egbert child mucking about, as well. Guess you’ll be having relatively close due dates, then,” you tell her.

“Well I’ll be damned,” she says in response. “Guess we both have the same way of dealing with death.” You snort at that and grab her hand, lacing her fingers with yours and pulling her off towards John and Rose.

“John, I’m dating your sister,” you tell him confidently. John shrugs.

“I know.” You look at him, taken aback.

“You knew?”

“Yeah. Oh, come on, Dave. You honestly don’t think Rose isn’t going to tell me everything? Besides, Jade explained it to me. All of it,” he glares at you as if a parent would. You put your hands up defensively.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. Consider me a permanent Harley-resident,” you reassure him. He grins.

“Good. The last thing I want to do is fuck up my best bro for sleeping with my sister. Especially on my WEDDING NIGHT!” he exclaims, smacking you on the arm.

“I thought you were fine with it!” He laughs.

“I’m only teasing, Dave.” The rest of you laugh in unison, and you think that maybe, for once, you might be okay with where you are in the world. You had your best friends, the love of your life by your side, and a child on the way. You thought that maybe, for once, your life might be more than okay.

It was extraordinary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, here's the last chapter! I know it's been prolonged, but I wanted to wait a bit before I put it out on here. Anyway, thanks to everyone who read it!! I appreciate it and am glad to have such a great start here on ao3! :)


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